77 Underprivileged Families In NTT Get Free Electricity Installation Assistance From PLN

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT PLN (Persero) meets the electricity needs of 77 underprivileged households in the Frontier, Outermost and Disadvantaged (3T) regions in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), this is a gift for the 77th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia.

Fulfillment of electricity is a program of New Installs of Electricity Assistance (BPBL) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) and PT PLN (Persero) for the 3T community and registered in the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS).

The first symbolic ignition was carried out directly on Wednesday, August 17, 2022 in East Sumba Regency, Umalulu District.

The Regent of East Sumba, who was represented by the Head of the East Sumba Social Service, Oktavianus Tamu Ama, expressed his gratitude to PLN for the extraordinary cooperation in collecting data on prospective beneficiaries according to the DTKS, so that this assistance can be received by people in need.

"We are also proud and grateful because people who still use lamps can finally feel electricity is present in their lives. We also thank the government for the assistance in connecting this new electricity through PLN," he said in an official statement, Thursday, August 18.

This activity, which is based on the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 3 of 2022 concerning New Installs of Electricity Assistance for Poor Households, will target 1,120 poor households without electricity in NTT.

General Manager of PLN Main Unit for East Nusa Tenggara, Agustinus Jatmiko, said that the BPBL program aims to meet the uneven demand for electrical energy, especially for underprivileged households that are not yet connected to PLN electricity.

A total of 77 families spread across NTT were lit on August 17, 2022 as a gift for the 77th Indonesian Independence. The total assistance for this 1,120 electricity connection uses the 2022 State Budget allocation of around IDR 1.2 billion.

Packages received in the 2022 BPBL Program include the provision of financing assistance for home electrical installations, Operational Eligibility Certification (SLO) fees, to New Connection Fees (BP) as well as charging initial electricity tokens.

"With the distribution of electricity for all poor people, especially in NTT, it will improve people's living standards and move the wheels of the economy, especially the momentum of independence day, as they say now they have been freed from darkness," said Jatmiko.

One of the beneficiaries, Andreas Gah (40), a resident of Lumbukore Village, said he was happy because his house had electricity from PLN.

Before receiving electricity from PLN, Andreas used a lamp with kerosene fuel to meet the lighting needs of his house.

"I used to use kerosene lamps, one month I could spend Rp. 40,000 for 4 liters of kerosene, while with electricity, PLN only bought 20,000 tokens a month," he explained.

As is known, the Ministry (ESDM) through the Directorate General of Electricity is targeting 80,000 underprivileged households living in the leading, underdeveloped and outermost (3T) areas to be the target of the BPBL program through the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) for Fiscal Year 2022.

The electrification ratio in NTT in the last 5 years has increased by 32.48 percent.

From the previous May 2017 of 59.85 percent, now it has reached 92.33 percent as of June 2022.